Guest commentary by Andries Coetzee
The heart of Christianity is Jesus, embodied in community.
On June 27 each year, the U.S. observes National HIV Testing Day. While there is still no cure for HIV, the tools and medications necessary to end the pandemic are now available. To achieve this once-unthinkable milestone, the church can play a significant role. We traditionally rely on health institutions to end disease, and neglect to recognize the contributions of faith communities in supporting people living with HIV. It takes courage to get tested, perseverance to stay adherent to treatment and faith and dignity to face the demons of stigma and shame.
The inner struggles of people living with HIV can be an overwhelmingly powerful force that stands between them and health and wholeness. Many people living with HIV struggle with fear, self-loathing, self-undermining and the destruction caused by self-blame. This internal stigma is stoked by the prejudice, bigoted and fearful reactions many have to HIV. Yet, it also finds fertile ground in congregations that perpetuate a misinformed sense of fear and judgment.
In my 23 years of ministry in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), I have witnessed the agony of an HIV diagnosis. People have told me about their internal mantra that HIV makes them tainted or dirty. They’ve shared their perception that they violated the body as a temple of the Holy Spirit, desecrated the Image of Christ and squandered Jesus’ sacrificial death (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). This toxic shame gives rise to a crippling fear of rejection by church, family, friends and, sadly, God.
Following Jesus in setting the captives free, the church can break the vicious cycle of toxic shame and fear, and enable people living with HIV to claim wholeness. Yet, the biggest stumbling block in finding the acceptance and support they need might be the church itself.
Because the disease is spread primarily through sexual contact, the church has failed to respond positively to prevention and care efforts. For too long, without apology, the church has held on to a theology of exclusion toward LGBTQIA+ people and played into the harmful stereotypes about people living with HIV and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Regretfully, many people do not realize that anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or other factors, can acquire HIV. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends routine HIV testing for everyone between the ages of 13 and 64.
The reality is that there are approximately 1.2 million people living with HIV in the U.S. and about 156,000 of them do not know it. As a pastor who has served churches in urban and rural settings, I wouldn’t be surprised if you aren’t aware of anyone living with HIV. Through available treatment, you might never know who in your life is living with HIV. Yet, we neglect to realize that we all are living with HIV.
As Christians, we believe that the church is the Body of Christ, and if one member suffers, we all suffer together (1 Corinthians 12:26). This proclamation that we are one in Christ moves us to face the reality that every one of us lives with HIV and mobilizes the church to fulfill its calling to embody God’s loving compassion.
This past year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we witnessed such embodiment of love and compassion, as the people of God ministered beyond closed doors, lockdowns and physical distancing in their proclamation that the church never closes. In a historic moment on March 26, 2020, the World Council of Churches and Regional Ecumenical Organizations affirmed the urgency of standing together to protect life amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement, they asserted: “Our faith in the God of life compels us to protect life by doing all that we can to avoid transmitting this virus.” And in compassion they affirmed that “God’s love is all-embracing; and the God of life is with each of us, even in our suffering.”
As a Presbyterian HIV Network leadership member, I believe we have an incredible opportunity before us to capitalize on this kairos moment in bringing an end to the HIV pandemic like we are doing with COVID-19.
National HIV Testing Day falls on a Sunday this year with its theme, “My Test, My Way,” emphasizing that there are different ways and places to get tested for HIV, including at home with a self-test. I believe that HIV testing, and encouragement to get tested, belongs within faith communities. This belief is underscored by our denomination’s observance of HIV Awareness Sunday, designated in proximity to National HIV Testing Day.
In congregations, we need to start talking about living with HIV, not dying from AIDS. It is significant that earlier this month, on June 5, we commemorated the 40th anniversary of the first reported cases of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the United States, which claimed the lives of more than 32 million people globally. Today no one has to die of AIDS. Antiretroviral therapies can decrease viral loads to undetectable levels resulting in life expectancies similar to that of people in the general population. However, early detection, starting and staying adherent to treatment are critical. Furthermore, if you have a fully suppressed viral load, you cannot pass the virus on — undetectable equals untransmittable (U=U).
As a church, we will have to acknowledge that while HIV is visible in other countries, we have made it invisible in the United States. As it is with COVID-19, it disproportionately affects underserved communities — the poor, Black, Indigenous and people of color. As more congregations embrace the Matthew 25 vision of the PC(USA), we need to also consider HIV in our efforts to address systemic racism and generational poverty.
Core in our desire to bring an end to the pandemic is the belief that every human being is created in the Image of God and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. Such a proclamation of God in us means that we will break the silence surrounding HIV and encourage testing; knowing that God is with us affirms that people living with HIV will live restored lives with the proper treatment and the spiritual, psychosocial and emotional support needed.
ANDRIES COETZEE is pastor at University Presbyterian Church in San Antonio and a part of the Presbyterian HIV Network.
